There is a new shop close to my beloved’s apartment building in Zagreb, where shops seem to open and close at a clip. This time it is a pawnshop. “This is the first of its kind I have ever seen,” my beloved said on our way to our morning coffee. At first we thought it was another shop buying gold and silver, of which there is a growing number in the city (“Gold and Silver,” March 25, 2012). When we looked a bit more carefully, we realized that this was yet another omen of hard times gripping the country. To make ends meet, people are selling everything that can fetch them some cash, not only gold and silver, which are easiest to sell. Pawnshops like the one we have come across this morning are likely to spring around the Croatian capital at a fast pace. The future is bright for vultures of all descriptions.

Addendum (October 19, 2015)

The pawnshop close to my beloved’s apartment building is gone by now. I do not remember exactly when it disappeared, but it must have been a few months ago. In its place, a shop with posh food has popped up, and it seems to be doing well. All the shops buying gold and silver in the neighborhood are also gone by now. According to the government, Croatia is now blessed with the first signs of economic growth since the onset of the global financial crisis seven years ago. Paltry as it is, it seems to be confirmed by the disappearance of vultures of all descriptions from central Zagreb. Alternatively, there is nothing left for destitute people to pawn any longer. The same holds for their gold and silver, of course. As for the posh food at the same location, the hard times have only made a few rich people even richer in Croatia, as well. Who knows, the owner of the pawnshop may have decided to try something even more profitable, let alone much more palatable.